Snowboarders are frequently injured from falls. This invention relates to a wrist support and more particularly to an adjustable wrist guard that may be worn by a snowboarder interchangeably on either the right or left hand that provides flexible, shock-absorbing support to the user's wrist in the unfortunate event of a fall.
Snowboarders suffer an extraordinary number of wrist injuries because they instinctively extend their arms to brace for impact during a fall. Because of the large number of falls that occur for even experienced snowboarders, a high incidence of wrist injuries exists. A beginning snowboarder, for example, can fall between 10 and 30 times per day; a more-experienced snowboarder, between 2 and 10 times per day. The most common injuries are wrist sprains, breaks or bruises. Indeed, wrist injuries are becoming such a common occurrence that it detracts from the enjoyment of the whole snowboarding experience. Some ski resorts now even require the mandatory use of wrist protection for persons learning how to use a snowboard.
Snowboarding is presently the fastest growing alpine winter sport in the United States. With a greater number of national ski areas permitting snowboarders to share the same lift serviced terrain as downhill skiers, the number of active participants has mushroomed, particularly in the under 25 years of age group. Snowboarding is analogous to "surfing on the snow". The snowboarder typically wears either "soft-shell" or "rigid-shell" boots, similar to those used with downhill ski equipment, either of which are rigidly secured to a pair of plate bindings, the forward one disposed axially and the rear one disposed transverse on the upper surface of the snowboard. Unlike downhill ski equipment which utilizes releasable bindings that are actuated upon the skier's leg encountering a given twisting or pulling load during a fall, snowboard bindings do not release unless manually activated by the snowboarder when removal of the board or one foot (when boarding lifts) is desired. Consequently, the snowboard is always anchored to the rider's feet during use and there is no independent leg movement as in skiing. Since both legs are attached to one board, the type of falls typically encountered by a snowboarder are markedly different from those a downhill skier may face. In snowboarding, the rider's feet are locked and, hence, the falls are less of a sliding fall where the feet can separate. Stops tend to be immediate to either the front or back, e.g., heel-side or toe-side edges of the board. In contrast, a skier's feet can separate during a fall which results in more side falls. As a result, snowboarders tend to fall more to their hips, rather than straight forward or backward. It is wrist protection for the type falls experienced by snowboarders that the present invention is directed.
Two approaches to providing wrist protection to snowboarders are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,313,667 and 5,537,692. The '667 patent utilizes four separate straps that selectively interconnect around a hand. Because separate straps are used, they can be difficult to use. In addition, such systems use rigid, non-shock-absorbing stays or supports. The '662 patent discloses a rigid wrist protection device that is incorporated within the lining of a glove to preserve the ornamental qualities of the glove. It also uses rigid, rather than flexible, supports. Neither the '667 patent nor the '692 patent teach the benefits of having multiple, narrow, flexible wrist-support plates that absorb, rather than transmit, forces or the unique wrap-around strap or the ability to wear the present invention on either the left or right hand.
Embodiments of the present invention may be worn interchangeably either over or under a glove and incorporate multiple symmetric thumb-holes and a wrap-around strap which positions a plurality of flexible support members as snugly as possible to the user's wrist. Further, the wrist guard is easy to put on and take off while, at the same time, offering more support and shock absorption than the prior art wrist protection devices.